Amjad M. Khan

This essay, which I penned for a special issue of the Review of Faith and International Affairs, explores a lesser-known debate between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan over the fundamental right to change one's religion or belief. This debate ultimately shaped the final adoption of the Declaration's religious freedom guarantee.

Drawing on a lecture I delivered at Oxford University for the International Conference on Human Dignity, co-sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion… Show more

This essay, which I penned for a special issue of the Review of Faith and International Affairs, explores a lesser-known debate between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan over the fundamental right to change one's religion or belief. This debate ultimately shaped the final adoption of the Declaration's religious freedom guarantee.

Drawing on a lecture I delivered at Oxford University for the International Conference on Human Dignity, co-sponsored by the International Center for Law and Religion (BYU Law) and the Religious Freedom Initiative (Notre Dame Law), I discuss how First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt turned to Muslim jurist Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan to help save Article 18 of the Declaration. Show less

Critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy relating to protection of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

An article on my late aunt, Dr. Nusrat Jahan.

This Article proffers a hitherto understated mechanism for the establishment, maintenance and cogent analysis of national security: the establishment and maintenance of religious pluralism. To date, official positions and scholarship sparingly comment on this assertion. To address these gaps and to offer a fresh perspective on this subject, this Article undertakes a legal analysis to buttress the notion that U.S. national security interests can be best served by working towards the… Show more

This Article proffers a hitherto understated mechanism for the establishment, maintenance and cogent analysis of national security: the establishment and maintenance of religious pluralism. To date, official positions and scholarship sparingly comment on this assertion. To address these gaps and to offer a fresh perspective on this subject, this Article undertakes a legal analysis to buttress the notion that U.S. national security interests can be best served by working towards the establishment of religious pluralism around the globe. Due to its strategic relevance for U.S. national security, the case of Pakistan – and the constitutional and legal apparatus that undergirds its view of religious minorities – serves as a blueprint for understanding this new national security paradigm (“NNSP”). Show less

An op-ed critiquing the Marrakesh Declaration on the rights of religious minorities in Muslim-majority nations.

The tragic events of the past months, including the Taliban’s murder of 132 schoolchildren in Peshawar, Boko Haram’s mass slaughter of civilians in Nigeria, and Al Qaeda’s massacre of the staff of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, have re-ignited a debate about the root causes of terrorism and its prevention. The debate centers largely on efforts by foreign governments in the Islamic world to effectively execute counter-terrorism measures against known terrorist organizations, including defeating their… Show more

The tragic events of the past months, including the Taliban’s murder of 132 schoolchildren in Peshawar, Boko Haram’s mass slaughter of civilians in Nigeria, and Al Qaeda’s massacre of the staff of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, have re-ignited a debate about the root causes of terrorism and its prevention. The debate centers largely on efforts by foreign governments in the Islamic world to effectively execute counter-terrorism measures against known terrorist organizations, including defeating their weaponry and propaganda. But little has been written on what is, arguably, the most potent instrument fueling the perpetrators’ terrorism: anti-blasphemy laws. A closer look at the anti-blasphemy laws of Pakistan, Indonesia, and Nigeria helps illustrate a potentially significant correlation: nations that criminalize blasphemy tend to foster an environment where terrorism is more prevalent, legitimized and insidious. Show less

For over three decades, Pakistan has prohibited and punished blasphemy through its criminal penal code. The laws’ grip on the rights of Pakistan’s religious minorities is well-documented. In 1993, the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the constitutionality of two of Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws (Ordinance XX) – which criminalize the religious conduct of Ahmadi Muslims – by arguing, in part, that the laws preserve “law, public order and morality” under Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution.… Show more

For over three decades, Pakistan has prohibited and punished blasphemy through its criminal penal code. The laws’ grip on the rights of Pakistan’s religious minorities is well-documented. In 1993, the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the constitutionality of two of Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws (Ordinance XX) – which criminalize the religious conduct of Ahmadi Muslims – by arguing, in part, that the laws preserve “law, public order and morality” under Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution. That legal justification – which remains intact more than two decades later – runs contrary to the acceptable rights limitations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Having now acceded to the ICCPR without any material reservations, Pakistan must abide by its international human rights commitments by repealing its discriminatory laws, or at the very least, the Supreme Court of Pakistan must reverse or severely limit its 1993 judgment. Show less

A thought piece on the Taliban's terrorist attack in Peshawar and Pakistan's anti-blasphemy laws.

A special study on the efficacy of the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for immigrant children.

Complete text of testimony given to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organiations, for a special hearing on effective accountability for international religious freedom violations concerning persecuted religious minorities.

Video with Q&A is here: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-protecting-religious-freedom-us-efforts-hold-accountable-countries (Part… Show more

Complete text of testimony given to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organiations, for a special hearing on effective accountability for international religious freedom violations concerning persecuted religious minorities.

Video with Q&A is here: http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-protecting-religious-freedom-us-efforts-hold-accountable-countries (Part 2, Minute 27) Show less

Third party defendants in False Claims Act litigation may be able to employ a new strategy to fight the government and avoid liability entirely: attacking the element of causation on summary judgment. For the first time in the Ninth Circuit, a court has required the government to establish more than just an “attenuated link” between a third party defendant’s actions and the submission of the alleged false statement or claim.

In the much publicized case of United States ex. rel. Humane… Show more

Third party defendants in False Claims Act litigation may be able to employ a new strategy to fight the government and avoid liability entirely: attacking the element of causation on summary judgment. For the first time in the Ninth Circuit, a court has required the government to establish more than just an “attenuated link” between a third party defendant’s actions and the submission of the alleged false statement or claim.

In the much publicized case of United States ex. rel. Humane Society v. Westland/Hallmark Meat Company et. al., the government sued owners and operators of a meat packing facility in Chino, California, along with the estate and widow of the facility’s principal financier and twice convicted felon, Aaron Magidow, for inhumanely treating cattle and processing downer cows for use in the National School Lunch Program. The court dismissed the False Claims Act claims against the estate and widow of Aaron Magidow because the government failed to furnish sufficient evidence to establish a nexus between Magidow’s affirmative acts and the actual submission of the alleged false statements and claims to the United States Department of Agriculture. The Westland decision provides a bright line of defense against government attempts to reach deep-pocketed third party affiliates or associates of government contractors. Show less

Complete text of testimony given to the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a special hearing on the plight of prisoners of conscience around the world.

Complete text of testimony given to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on examining the Government's record in implementing the International Religious Freedom Act.

An op-ed on Pakistan's voter apartheid practices.

An op-ed on the 2012 United National Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Pakistan's human rights record.

Complete text of testimony given to the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a special hearing on the plight of religious minorities in South Asia.

Video with Q&A is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6DT57f7Y3w&feature=youtu.be

The article critiques Pakistan Supreme Court Justice Abdul Qadeer Chaudhry's notorious 1993 majority opinion in Zaheeruddin v. State. The article illustrates in exhaustive detail how Justice Chaudhry grossly misapplied U.S. trademark and constitutional law to render one of the most legally dubious and intellectually dishonest judicial opinions in Pakistan's history.

An op-ed on the need for a media makeover in the treatment of Islam and Muslims.

An op-ed on the need for a global Muslim leader.

Following a loss on a motion to terminate the derivative litigation, a lawyer representing a Special Litigation Committee (SLC) should not assume that all is lost, or that the lawyer's engagement on the matter has closed. Rather, the lawyer should look to the law of the jurisdiction to determine if the SLC has an opportunity to present its case at an evidentiary hearing. This is particularly true if the court has denied, or signaled that it plans to deny, a motion to terminate the derivative… Show more

Following a loss on a motion to terminate the derivative litigation, a lawyer representing a Special Litigation Committee (SLC) should not assume that all is lost, or that the lawyer's engagement on the matter has closed. Rather, the lawyer should look to the law of the jurisdiction to determine if the SLC has an opportunity to present its case at an evidentiary hearing. This is particularly true if the court has denied, or signaled that it plans to deny, a motion to terminate the derivative litigation on the ground that factual disputes exist. Show less

An op-ed on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Bangladesh.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the legal issues surrounding the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.